wacky tacky: Covina Bowl

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bowl-O-Rama: Friendly Hills Bowl

Do you ever just drive around looking at/for cool signs? I'm pretty sure that every region of the United States still offers an abundance of interesting signage to inspire the natural marketer/advertiser in all of us - if we just keep our eyes open. Many times my eyes are so wide open looking for cool signs that I miss what is happening on the road. As we have discovered, some of the best vintage signs are to be found at bowling alleys and we were certainly not disappointed by the towering, skewered diamonds of Friendly Hills Bowl in Whittier, CA.

Like many of the bowling alleys around Southern California, Friendly Hills Bowl is a relic of Jet Age optimism and architecture. The roof line looks like a jet taking flight while the structure is grounded by the weight of stacked stones; this juxtaposition of ultra modern angles and stone age materials always lends a dissonance that I find both confusing and thrilling.

Friendly Hills Bowl - Whittier, CA


I'm telling you, it's all about mid-Century optimism. I've always heard that a person whose writing angles upward, is a natural optimist. Here, the script of the bowling alley's sign follows the ascending flight path of the roof line, followed by the diamonds repeated from the larger sign.

So a cocktail tray, a trifle bowl, a coffee carafe and a martini
glass walk into a bowling alley; they start to juggle and...
I'm not exactly sure what this mural at the entrance to the bowling
alley signifies, but please write me a hilarious joke that
ends with the punchline, "Those aren't bowling balls!".

Anywhere we go, I'm always interested in light fixtures,
but the more interesting part to me was the muted violet color
that predominated the color scheme of this and the last bowling
alley we featured (owned by two different companies). Is there
some psychological effect that shades of purple have on bowlers?
Eat more? Drink more? Bowl a few more frames?

Mary had to stop for a hip photo op in front of the color-blocked lockers.

The flooring, paint scheme, and menu have been "updated," but the
barstools and chrome prove that the bones of a cool snack shop are still there.


Is it the friendly barroom at Friendly Hills Bowl, or the popular, teen hang out, The Max, from Saved by the Bell?

A view of some fancy bowling balls
available for purchase in the pro shop
I wonder if they have any of these in 4.5 lbs.
with extra large finger holes???

So Friendly Hills Bowl has all the hallmarks of a genuine bowling alley - Snack bar/coffee shop, check. Bar, check. Pro Shop, check. Beauty Parlor, Check. Beauty Parlor?!?!

Friendly Hills Bowl has a beauty parlor conveniently located inside the bowling alley.
H-A-I-R, big "D," little "e," Big "S," Big "I," Big "G,", Big "N," spells "coiffure me!"
Now that's class!

I've always had a love-hate relationship with those Nagel-esque salon illustrations.
This one is funny because it is a whole family and not just those smoky eyes, razor
cheekbones, and single, red rose. They always seemed so creepy but now they leave
me a little nostalgic for stylized, 80's cartoons like "Jem."

Come to think of it, I'm not sure that Jem, herself, isn't
a product of Hair DeSign's gifted team of stylists!
(Source)

Just in case you had any doubts - this ain't no salon; this is a beauty parlor.
I can only assume that this is some kind of combination potty chair/hair dryer.

It seemed so strange to have a beauty parlor inside a bowling alley until we remembered that Covina Bowl had a beauty parlor as well, called Hair'em (adhering to the ye olde Egyptian theme of that establishment). Some of you more informed types out there might be able to fill me in; was it de rigueur to have a beauty shop as an obligatory addendum to the greater bowling experience?

Hair'em at Covina Bowl

All I know is that it must've been nice for Marge and Leona to know that they needn't worry about getting all dolled up before the big tournament; they could simply show up in curlers and a scarf and leave with a bubble flip and the league championship!

Considering getting a permanent, Mr. Tiny was feeling pretty
friendly himself standing in the in the atrium-like
setting of Friendly Hills Bowl's entry created by the
sun-drenched horticulture filtered only by the architectural beams.

If you're looking for a fun day of bowling or just a slice of pizza and a finger wave, make your way down to Friendly Hills Bowl in Whittier. Look for the diamonds in the sky.

Friendly Hills Bowl

15545 E Whittier Blvd

Whittier, CA

(562)947-3815

www.amf.com/friendlyhillslanes

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Bowl-O-Rama: Covina Bowl

I guess when you're hanging out at a bowling alley wearing overalls, you just can't help but be a weirdo magnet. Why can't I just sneak around the bowling alley taking photos of light fixtures and terrazzo flooring without being solicited into beating up a group of thirteen-year-old boys by a 28-year-old man playing shoot 'em up video games who is admittedly the father to no less than fourteen children of his own but has nothing better to do than play video games and threaten minors in the middle of a weekday? To echo my sentiment from an earlier post, I sure am grateful for the neat places that are still here.

The other day we took a short drive to a veritable temple of the bowling arts, Covina Bowl in Covina, CA.

What an entrance!!

Built more than thirty years too late to cash in on the Tut-mania of the 1920's, this bowling alley is inexplicably, if only very superficially, Egyptian themed. The roofline speaks much more to mid-Century tiki architecture and the references to ancient Alexandria are scarce. Whatever the thinking behind architect George Powers' 1955 masterpiece, we didn't even make it inside before we fell in love!

In various states of repair, the signs were beautiful in their simplicity!

A taste of Egypt on an exterior wall

Once inside, our options for discovery were plentiful,
but who would want to get bored in a board room,
when one could just as easily play urban Indiana Jones and
explore the wonders of the Egyptian and Pyramid Rooms!!!

The Egyptian Room was definitely my favorite area of Covina Bowl. Completely trapped in time, it is the coffee shop that must have served thousands of ravenous bowlers over the years. Although it is completely outfitted to operate as a functional coffee shop/cafe, it now sits empty just begging for a wonderful entrepreneurial restaurateur to come along and fill the seats. Given the means, I would love to run a wacky tacky eatery in the space; it just needs a little bit of love before it could be the coolest place to grub in Covina!

Mary sits at the counter where the stainless steel display cases are longing for pies, cakes, and Jell-O.
Behind the window, there is a huge commercial kitchen. All of the facilities/utilities are in place and seem to be in good shape; I guess there must be a reason why the Egyptian Room is is non-operational, but I can't think of a good one!

A detail of the stained, textured glass wall behind a booth in
the Egyptian Room.

We poked our heads into the Pyramid Room and found
a rather spiritless banquet room that was being
prepared for a quinceanera later that evening.
Instead of a bunch of tables covered in white table cloths,
here is a photo of Mary, walking like an Egyptian.

As ever, I find delight in terrazzo floors and light fixtures and Covina Bowl did not disappoint! The building is enormous and it must have taken a whole quarry full of marble chips to make the miles of flooring.

I wonder how many other bloggers include pictures of the floor wherever they go?
The floor was much more green than this photo could capture.

I love light fixtures!

I was particularly fond of the pendant lamps with stripes of coral, lavender and blue.

We couldn't leave without visiting the arcade (the site of the near brawl between man and children). Any time I have the opportunity to trade my hard-earned money for tokens with the slight chance that those tokens might translate into paper tickets that I can then swap for plastic prizes that I could have simply purchased for mere pennies on the dollar, I'M IN!!!

We stayed as far away from the "Flamin Finger" as we possibly could.
It seems like no amount of antibiotics could cure flamin' finger.

I'm much more of a speed demon!
I am game challenged and in too much of a hurry to read
the rules. Even after reviewing them in the photo, it occurs
me that, "1. Get a Speed Demon Here" and "2. To play here,"
weren't quite explicit enough for me. Huh???

Nevertheless, I was triumphant!!!

We actually won enough tickets for only one of these rings, but having
clearly gained the favor of the ancient bowling gods, the machine that
dispensed arcade prizes gave us each one! Jealous?